Sapphire Souls
by TheKeybladeForger
Summary: The fate of two parallel world's lies in the hands of our beloved Demon King when he obtains a strange new power that he will have to use to either change the course of their future or rewrite the past. However a price must be paid to save Yuri from a dark force that threatens to destroy his soul forever. And they will soon discover that Yuri's life isn't the only one in danger...
1. Sound of the Soul

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Tsubasa Chronicles, XXXHolic, or anything else associated with Clamp Manga; this is purely fan-made.

 **Note:** This is the remake of _"The Paradox Creed."_ So obviously I'm still planning on making the actual sequel to "Heir to the Kingdom of Pandora" that will focus more on Leon and Conrad, but for now I wanted to go ahead and make another TRC and KKM crossover in the meantime after reading the most recent chapter of "Tsubasa World Chronicle" that takes place after the original TRC ended. Anyway, this new story starts off pretty much the same as the previous version with new content after a certain point. I hope you all enjoy it!

 _~The Sound of the Soul~_

 _Nothing seemed amiss until Yuri started to feel very strange shortly after Sara's soldiers came to warn them about someone infiltrating the castle; most likely the same men involved in the rebellion that attacked them before. Yuri should have been just as shocked by the news as the rest of his friends were, but for some reason he felt-for lack of a better word-strangely vacant. As if he was still physically there with everyone but his heart and mind were being drawn elsewhere; that something was calling out to him and only to him from very far away._

 _As the soldiers escorted them back inside and then down one of the castle's many hallways Yuri suddenly felt his heart begin to thump uncomfortably the further on they went. And eventually, Yuri stopped dead in his tracks; unable to stand the strange fluttering in his chest any longer. He only felt dazed at first, but soon that feeling escalated to the point where Yuri felt like he was about to lose consciousness. So he stopped to take a slow breath in and then another one out, hoping that it would help calm his frantically beating heart. It didn't. Therefore it took all of his remaining strength just to remain standing. Because Yuri didn't want to alarm his friends for no reason if he was only feeling uneasy about the current situation; although he was the only one who for some reason suddenly felt so painfully afraid of what lay ahead of them._

 _Hiding the flicker of surprise in his eyes at Yuri's unexpected hesitation, Sara smiled as he turned to face him and assured Yuri calmly. "There's no need for concern. I'm sure that they will be apprehended soon enough. We just have to be patient and go somewhere safe for the time being."_

 _Shaking his head again and looking utterly perplexed, Yuri replied dizzily, "No, that's not it. Something doesn't feel right. I don't feel right…"_

 _Before Sara could ask why he felt that way Wolfram strode up next to them and grumbled irritably. "Yuri, why the hell did you stop? We should keep going before we run into anymore problems with these damned rebels."_

 _Staring down the hallway a little further ahead as if sensing something they couldn't, Yuri continued airily as the light in his eyes slowly began to dim. "I-!" he began weakly before Yuri gasped when his heart jolted sharply and he had to lean on Sara for support. And then he heard it again, a distant resonating sound inside of his head that seemed to echo throughout his entire being._

" _Yuri, what's wrong?!" Sara cried out in alarm as the others tensed too when they saw Yuri collapse._

 _In response, Yuri looked up at him with strangely unfocused eyes and gripped Sara's arms tightly, his fingers trembling. For behind his shimmering eyes-whose glow looked like shafts of pure sunlight sifting underwater-Yuri beheld several fractured visions of events surrounding himself and the people closest to him. Yuri even saw visions of people he didn't know, but knew he should for some reason._

 _Then, the castle too began to tremble slightly beneath their feet as the same sound Yuri heard before struck the air and his vision began fading in and out of focus. As for Sara, when he looked down at Yuri with a mixture of careful calculation and genuine concern, he noticed that they seemed to ripple slightly each time that sound echoed around them. A strange yet dulcet sound like the gentle hum of a crystal being struck. Or the sound of a droplet of water echoing in the silence when it is broken only when that single drop fell down into the stillness of the water below it._

What is this? This isn't his usual power. _Sara thought as he held Yuri, trying to figure out exactly what was happening to him._ It isn't Yuri doing all of this, and yet, this power feels the same as his. Why? What's causing this?

 _As if answering his question, Yuri inhaled a sharp breath and gripped his shoulders tighter as a pair of ethereal wings unfurled from Yuri's back and their eyes widened in shock. Those wings held a haunting and terrible beauty as they slowly spread out in a wider arch just as the soldiers being led by the traitor Gerald finally stumbled out the door where they'd been waiting to ambush them; their faces covered in splatters of blood and their eyes wide with fear._

 _Tearing their eyes away from Yuri when the rebel soldiers appeared, they saw walking out of the doorway with a graceful and predatorial slowness a young man that looked exactly like Yuri; even down to the same clothing. Or what was left of them at least. His black clothes were torn in several places which revealed the fact that his entire body was covered in terrible wounds that bled freely down his lightly tanned skin. Though it was clear to them that none of these were stab wounds except for a large gash cut across the other boy's right cheek…_

 _What shocked them aside from his ghastly wounds and the fact that he looked just like Yuri was that his left eye was not black like Yuri's, but a brilliant gold. And not just a plain-old gold either, but a rich metallic sheen that glinted in the light the same way real gold would. What's more, those same eyes stared at the soldiers coldly, listlessly, and without any trace of emotion whatsoever._

" _Your Eminence, that boy, he looks exactly like-!" Gunter began when the Yuri-look-a-like suddenly gazed over at them momentarily, as if only just noticing their presence, before turning his attention back to the soldiers and rushed at the one nearest to him with blinding speed._

 _And when they collided against the wall opposite them he then pressed the side of his bare hand, which was pointed in a spear-like position, against his throat. Then, the other Yuri leaned up against the soldier's ear and breathed in a menacingly low voice, "Withdraw from this place. Now."_

 _Mustering his courage, the soldier replied. "I don't take orders from you, Demon scum!" he snapped, regaining his composure and glancing at his comrades beside him, signaling for them to resume their attack. Not realizing yet that this 'Yuri' was not the Yuri they were ordered to apprehend and capture at all costs._

 _As for the real Yuri, the dragon-like wings on his back shone for only a moment more before slowly folding themselves protectively in front of him and Sara and then vanishing in a burst of light when Yuri fainted. But they could still hear a faint echo of that strange sound as it slowly faded away and the tremors beneath them finally stopped. Yuri's breathing was slow and steady now, so at least they knew he wasn't in pain anymore. However, no one had the faintest clue what just happened to him or who the stranger before them really was. Let alone whether or not it was safe to approach him to help fight off Gerald's men before more reinforcements arrived._

 _As soon as the ground stopped trembling Wolfram rushed over to Sara and was about to demand to know if his fiancé was alright when before he could even begin to form the words, the other Yuri said in response to the soldier's bold remark, "Then I have no choice." And with his bare hands, he stabbed the soldier in front of him right through the heart._

 _The soldier let out a gurgled cry and coughed up a lot of blood before soundlessly crumpling to the ground at the other Yuri's feet. And he didn't stop there either. In a matter of seconds, with a blinding flurry of sharp kicks and more jabs with his bare hands, he then slaughtered every single one of Gerald's men single-handedly._

 _Then he slowly turned and looked at the rest of them with his dark fathomless eyes. And as the other Yuri slowly lifted his bloodstained hand to cover his golden eye he muttered airily, "I must protect him at all costs, the one who shares my name and soul. And I must kill whoever threatens his existence. I must kill them all…"_

" _Ok, spill it!" Wolfram snarled, suddenly wrenching his sword out of its sheath and taking a menacing step towards the other Yuri. "Just who the hell are you?! What did you do to Yuri you freak!"_

" _Wait Wolfram!" Gunter hissed, grabbing his arm firmly and restraining him before he tried to do anything stupid._

 _Dropping his bloody hand from his face, the stranger glanced at him and replied in a monotone, "I am also 'Yuri,' nothing more. As for what I have done, I only did what was necessary to proceed towards a future that differs from the one in my dream." Then he narrowed his eyes and stared directly down at Sara, who was still holding the original Yuri's unconscious body close to his chest. As his eyes bore into Sara's he saw the first hint of emotion since they first saw the other Yuri when his eyes flickered hesitantly for a brief moment just before he commented, "I see, so you are not the only one in this world who has lost something precious because of that man's wish. But I swear, I will definitely give it back to you. That precious thing that you've lost. With these hands I will change this twisted world back to the way it was before. No matter the cost, I will take back everything that was stolen from me. And from you."_

 _After that he lazily raised a hand in front of him and a magic circle spiraled out from underneath him. Then the other Yuri's body started to warp as if it was made of water and he disappeared without a trace. And not a moment too soon either. Because just then the reinforcements that Conrad and the others were worried about finally made their appearance and they were forced to clumsily scoop Yuri up and make a run for it. Their minds still filled with troubled thoughts over the horrors they had just witnessed and the fact that their own Yuri was somehow in the middle of it as usual._


	2. Displaced Memories

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Tsubasa Chronicles, XXXHolic, or anything else associated with Clamp Manga; this is purely fan-made.

 **Note:** Sorry about before when the prologue chapter was all messed up, I was once again trying to upload the file from my computer to my phone and it got damaged. The original was fine though so I tried a different method and finally fixed it. Anyway, here's the second chapter for you guys. I hope you like it!

Chapter 1: Displaced Memories

 _(Night Owls by Mree)_

 _Come the summer, come the spring_

 _Come the lonely parting of me_

 _It was all in my head_

 _To remember it_

 _When you came and said to me_

 _In my heart you'll always be_

 _Well I thought you were mine_

 _But I know now_

 _In time the light will come to seek me out_

 _To draw my heart out from my mouth_

 _And prey on words I'll never say_

 _And in time the shadows form to feed the dark_

 _To hide the beat of heavy hearts_

 _So in the night I'll always stay_

 _Come and toll your bells for me_

 _Ringing out in rounds across the empty heart of mine_

 _To break the silence in the night_

 _In the darkness you_

 _Come and sing your songs to me_

 _Spin me round and watch me fall to pieces over you_

 _Yet you haven't a clue_

 _Well I'm sure that_

 _In time the light will come to seek me out_

 _To draw my heart out from my mouth_

 _And prey on words I'll never say_

 _And in time the shadows form to feed the dark_

 _To hide the beat of heavy hearts_

 _So in the night I'll always stay_

 _A cowering fall, a coward is all that I'll be_

 _(See the sun, feel the sun)_

 _But no will of mine could stop the dawning day_

 _Could hide the sun so I must say_

 _For you, my love will always stay_

* * *

Somehow amidst the chaos Yuri and the others were able to escape from the castle safely and elude their pursuers for now. Though Yuri however was still unconscious and they still didn't know what was wrong with him. But since Berias was with them 'this time' and he possessed some skill in healing Sara offered to have Berias look him over since it would be difficult to call for a doctor while they were still on the run from Gerald's soldiers. And as of yet Gerald didn't know that anything unusual happened during their escape since the only witnesses to what really happened were already dead.

"As if we didn't have enough to worry about," Yosak commented with his arms crossed, having rejoined their group sometime after the other Yuri disappeared and heard what happened from Conrad. He turned to Murata after a while and asked him, "Do you think that kid was a clone of some kind?"

Murata shook his head, knowing what the red-head was silently hinting at without saying it out loud in front of Sara. "I highly doubt that. There's no way that someone could make a replica of Shibuya with that much power for us not to notice it. Besides, by now I know Shibuya's presence better than anyone and whoever that guy was he was the real deal. There's no mistaking that but-" glancing over at Yuri's limp body, he continued in a level tone, "-what worries me more right now is what happened to Shibuya. I should have noticed sooner that he was acting strange and that something was wrong, however, it seems that Shibuya was the one who sensed that something was wrong long before any of us did. Which is as you know a pretty rare occurrence. What I want to know is what those wings were and how they've affected him. But we won't know anything until he wakes up."

Sara nodded in agreement and turned around to address Berias as he continued examining Yuri and asked worriedly, "Berias, have you found anything yet?"

Without stopping to face him when Sara asked him this, Berias replied. "Nothing yet. However, I believe that is exactly the problem."

"What is?" Wolfram asked, barely managing to suppress the panic in his voice before shouting angrily at Berias. "Damn it what's wrong with him?! Why won't Yuri wake up?!"

Walking over unexpectedly and gripping his shoulder firmly, Sara told him very seriously, "Please, calm down Lord Belfield. Of course we're all worried about Yuri but we need to keep a level head about this since there are still people out there looking for us. This was something entirely out of our control and there was no way that I could have predicted that something like this would happen to Yuri during your visit and I sincerely apologize for it from the bottom of my heart. But I assure you that Berias is doing everything he can. Even so I must ask you to please be patient so that we aren't found while Yuri is recovering from whatever happened to him back at the castle."

Glaring at him and shrugging out of his reach Wolfram snapped at Sara angrily. "This is all your fault you know! If you hadn't invited us here when your country was in such an unstable condition this never would have happened! Despite that Yuri insisted that we come anyway, that's just how he is. But you should have turned us away until it was safe for Yuri to be here! That is your responsibility as a ruler isn't it? To ensure the safety of your guests? And yet look at how poorly you've taken care of my fiancé when it was still dangerous for him to come here in the first place because of-!"

His rant was interrupted however when Wolfram heard Berias gasp sharply beside them and mutter, "My god, this is…"

When Wolfram and the others turned to look, they saw that Berias had carefully turned Yuri over onto his stomach to search for any remnants of strange magic from those wings and removed both his undershirt and black overcoat, exposing his bare skin. And what they saw there was the bold outline of a pair of those same wings outstretched across Yuri's back and over his shoulder-blades. Beginning from the base of his spine all the way up to Yuri's neck with a crescent moon between them at the very base of his spine.

The outline of these strange markings were a rich shade of blue, almost like a royal blue or a deep sapphire, but it wasn't as if the marks were actually inked onto Yuri's skin like a tattoo. No, the skin almost looked as if it were bruised. Although Berias was relieved to find that thankfully the veins were not enflamed. Because when he looked at them a bit closer Berias could see that the fine veins of color bleeding out from the very edges of the lines that traced Yuri's back to make that winged pattern were not swollen and were perfectly smooth across his skin. What this pattern signified though Berias had no idea…

Horrified by the sight of this Wolfram strode past Sara, ignoring him completely, and tentatively touched Yuri's taunt skin. He felt Yuri flinch in his sleep in response to when Wolfram's hand came to gently rest on his shoulder and Wolfram breathed his name almost inaudibly, his voice growing thick with emotion. "Yuri…"

"By the Great One!" Gunter gasped as well, clasping his hands together worriedly.

Narrowing his gaze, Sara asked his bodyguard again, "Berias, you really can't sense anything unusual with Yuri?"

Unable to give his King or the rest of them a satisfactory answer, Berias shook his head and withdrew from Yuri's side to face them all directly as he explained. "I've preformed every kind of examination I can think of but I can't sense any strange power interfering with King Yuri's magic or his health. If we hadn't seen those wings for ourselves I'd have said that he only collapsed from fatigue because there is nothing physically wrong with his body. Nor do I sense any malicious magic at work inside of him. In fact, if I didn't know any better I would say that whatever those wings are-" Closing his eyes as he gathered his thoughts before making any foolish assumptions, Berias told them in all seriousness, "-they've become a part of His Highness. That is why I can't sense anything amiss. Because those wings and His Highness King Yuri's own powers have merged into one. However, this is only conjecture until we find out more."

"Then what about that boy we saw after those wings first manifested themselves?" Conrad began calmly, though he was almost just as-if not more-worried as his brother about Yuri right now. "When we asked him who he was that boy said that he _was_ Yuri, and that he was trying to change something about the future. Does that mean that he could actually be a version of Yuri from the future itself? I also remember him mentioning that supposedly our world is twisted in some way because of a wish someone made and that he wanted to _'get something precious back._ ' What do you think he was talking about? Gunter, any ideas?"

Like Berias though, Gunter didn't have any answers either so he simply clasped his hands tighter and silently looked over at Yuri's sleeping form. As always Yuri looked so innocent, noble, and pure, without even the faintest trace of malice or contempt towards anyone. And even in his other form Yuri had never once taken a life. His anger was just and fair, choosing mercy over judgement as often as possible depending on who they were facing. So to see Yuri, even if it was a future version or an illusion of him, kill like that without hesitation or remorse was almost more frightening than when he'd seen Yuri fly into a full-blown rage towards their enemies. That being said, Gunter prayed with all his heart that Conrad was wrong about this future-self theory.

Just then, as the tension in the room became so thick that the atmosphere almost became oppressive, Yuri finally stirred and Wolfram exclaimed, "Yuri's awake!"

Blearily opening his eyes Yuri groggily sat up and blinked a few times before glancing at Wolfram's relieved expression and then over at the rest of them, blushing deeply. "Um…hi? So anybody want to tell me why I'm shirtless right now?"

The feeling of relief from seeing Yuri acting like his usual self lifted their moods like a veil falling away and for a moment it masked the concern they still felt about their current predicament. Everyone was happy to see that Berias was right about Yuri being perfectly healthy, but that feeling was soon replaced by the need to make plans to escape from Small Shimaron and for Sara to regain control of the castle before things got any more out of hand.

Murata was about to ask Yuri how he felt when Yuri's eyes widened and he suddenly cried, "That's right, I have to go save Sara!" Soon after he leapt out of bed only to be caught by the shoulders by Wolfram and held in place.

"Yuri, what are you talking about? He's right-" Wolfram began to explain, feeling both troubled and confused by Yuri's odd reaction when Yuri protested with a light smile as his dark eyes bore into his-

"No matter what problems we faced, I always felt safe knowing that all of you were beside me. I think that…I'm a really fortunate person. The only reason an ordinary high school student like me is more or less managing as a king is because I have all of your support. You guys really care about me. But Sara…has always been alone. I promised Sara that I would be there for him. I want to show him that no matter how much difficulty he goes through, there will always be someone he can trust."

Sara was shocked by these words, because they had made no such promise. Besides which how could Yuri possibly know how lonely he felt? And he was right there so why did Yuri think he needed saving? Did Yuri forget what happened in the castle completely?

While Yuri's friends were exchanging worried looks, Sara entered his line of sight and smiled softly. "It's alright Yuri, I'm right here."

Startled by the unexpected sound of his voice, Yuri whirled around and grinned. "Sara, you're safe! That's great!" Looking puzzled again however, Yuri asked him, "How did you manage to get away from Gerald so fast though? I thought he captured you right after you pushed me out the window when his men found us hiding in your bedroom; which by the way scared the living daylights out of me! Gunter had to cut me down when I was still dangling from the rooftop by the sleeve. You could have at least warned me so I could catch myself you know!"

"You really don't remember?" Sara asked honestly, perplexed that Yuri's story didn't match what actually happened to them.

Feeling just as confused that Sara didn't seem to know what he was talking about either, Yuri recited what he remembered happening. "Well let's see. We were taking a walk in the garden when some of your guards, who as it turned out were actually working for Gerald's stupid rebellion the whole time, told us that someone had broken into the castle and brought us inside under the pretense of taking us to safety. They were leading us straight into an ambush though but I guess you must have realized it just in time because you suddenly grabbed my hand and hurled us both down some kind of hidden passage in the wall to get away before the others could catch up to us. After that we uh…" he laughed nervously and glanced at Wolfram briefly before continuing, "…we kind of hid inside of a coffin for a few minutes when they were searching the mausoleum for us. I was freaking out so you started asking me about the Great Demon Kingdom and what it's like to distract me. So I told you a bit about Gretta, my adopted daughter and I was just starting to talk about my mother when we heard them open the coffin next to us and finally leave. Once they were gone, that's when you came up with the idea of hiding in your bedroom since they probably wouldn't expect us to go somewhere so obvious. You still seemed curious about my mom so we talked more about her when you told me how you can't remember yours exactly, but you dream about her. About the sound of waves and the soft tinkle of bells. You told me that growing up you never felt close to your father either. It was lonely. And then you told me how you envied that I have so many people beside me when you feel so alone and have always felt that way. That's when I promised you, as a friend, that I would always be there for you. No matter what, you will always have me."

"How…" Sara gasped despite himself the moment he heard Yuri mention his mother. He'd never told anyone that, not even Berias. And for Yuri to know about his dreams in that much detail…

Just what in the world was going on?


	3. Two Pasts One Future

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Tsubasa Chronicles, XXXHolic, or anything else associated with Clamp Manga; this is purely fan-made.

Chapter 2: Two Pasts; One Future

Scratching the back of his head and feeling nervous because everyone was being so uncharacteristically quiet, Yuri continued, "So, I'm guessing that I must have hit my head and blacked out or something when I fell out of the tree right? Because honestly it's all a blank after that. Looks like we all managed to get away though and that makes me really happy. But now what're we going to do? We can't just let Gerald get away with this and take over the whole country! We have to do something!"

" _We_ don't have to do anything," Sara retorted, his expression harsh but not in an unkind way. "Lord Belifield is right, I've already put you in harm's way more than enough as it is and I don't want to be held responsible for anything else happening to you, Yuri." Gently taking both of Yuri's hands in his own, he said, "Yuri, I want you to listen to me very carefully. What you remember, none of that actually happened. You've been unconscious ever since you collapsed in the hallway _before_ the soldier's appeared. Please try to remember."

Yuri blinked. "Huh? What's gotten into you Sara? Of course it happened! I didn't just dream all of that up. You're the one who doesn't seem to-?!" Flinching as a series of familiar images blazed across the forefront of his mind, Yuri's expression faltered and he blinked again, staring at the floor when his vision started swimming again. "Wait…I do remember something about having a dream. But I saw so many splintered images though that most of it was too hard to make out. And the whole time I kept hearing a sound that was both comforting and yet sometimes it sounded so sad that it made me want to cry. I'm sure that I know that sound. I've heard it before. Where…have I heard it before?"

"Your Highness, King Yuri is clearly in no state to argue the matter in regards to what did or did not happen," Berias suggested after seeing how disoriented Yuri had become. "We should let him rest a bit longer and make preparations for a counter attack against Gerald. Otherwise it will become much more difficult for His Highness and the rest of them to escape while Gerald still holds a more powerful position now that he has successfully taken over the castle. And while I'm sure Gerald wants to capture both of you, his main priority is going to be to capture you first and force you into relinquishing the throne to him without word of his treachery getting out. At least until his hold on the castle is strong enough to prevent the people of Small Shimaron who are loyal to you from resisting; including the soldiers he sent out that are loyal only to you."

Yosak agreed with Berias and suggested, "Back then, he'd dispatched a majority of Small Shimaron's army outside, claiming that it was for the sake of security. That must have been part of his scheme to plant his own soldiers in the castle and take control of it from the inside."

"Gerald," Gunter frowned, finally lowering his hands after seeing that Yuri was alright-in most respects at least-and added his own thoughts on the matter as well. "He held a powerful position as army general and yet sought to betray his King." Then, glancing over at Sara with a mixed expression of sympathy for his plight and his confidence that Sara was a strong enough ruler to overcome this act of treason on Gerald's part, Gunter's gaze fell lastly upon Yuri and he said, "In any case, we should leave this place as soon as possible-"

"No," Yuri said firmly, withdrawing his hands from Sara's and facing his silver-haired tutor with his trademark expression of unwavering resolve. "I can't do that."

Frustrated that Yuri was being unreasonable as usual, Wolfram snapped out of the worried daze he'd been in for the last few minutes and exclaimed, "Wait a second! You can't be thinking…!"

"I can't just leave things like this and run away!" Yuri argued. "Whether I dreamed up that promise or not, I won't abandon Sara!"

"Don't be stupid!" Wolfram snapped. "This is Small Shimaron's problem, not ours! There's no need for us to get involved with this!"

Understanding Yuri's feelings, Murata added a bit more gently, "Shibuya, I understand how you feel, but…"

"Young man," Yosak muttered, seeing how dejected Yuri seemed.

After a moment of apprehensive silence, Yuri's shoulders slumped and he said more meekly. "If this continues, I won't be able to keep my promise to finally change things between the human and Demon Tribes. Things can't go back to how they were. No matter how hard we may wish for it sometimes, once lost, those things, those people, and those important moments, they can never come back. That's why we have to do everything we can to move forward, or else nothing will change, and no one will ever understand how we truly feel."

* * *

Once Yuri was safely tucked in bed again and Wolfram stayed behind in the room to watch over him since he was in no mood to deal with Sara's political problems anymore, the rest of them continued their discussion about what they should do before their time ran out and they were eventually discovered. There wasn't any more time left for speculation about Yuri's mental condition or that pattern etched on his back. What they needed to focus on was getting him out of Small Shimaron in one piece before things escalated any further.

As for Sara, since Yuri was the one who brought it up first, he decided to go ahead and tell them at least some of the truth about what he'd been planning to do when Yuri unexpectedly blacked out before they were ambushed. There was no point in hiding it now anyway, and perhaps it might help them shed some light on what Yuri _thought_ happened to them…

"While I didn't know that the one behind the attacks was Gerald at the time, I was worried that something like that was going to happen and so I had a plan in mind beforehand to at least get Yuri to safety. I apologize for not telling the rest of you about it but I felt that in the worst case scenario I should at the very least get him out of danger first until we could meet up again somewhere else and escape together. But if I'd told you about that emergency exit then Gerald's men would have been more likely to see us going through it right away; in which case using that secret passage would have been pointless. I don't know how Yuri knew about it but that passage is a real place and that particular passage does indeed lead down to a burial crypt below the castle. As for what Yuri said about my mother, that's..." Folding his hands under his chin and resting his elbows on the table in front of them Sara sighed deeply and continued in a level tone, "What he described fits my dreams about her perfectly since it is always the same dream. Although whether that really is my mother or not I have no way of knowing. And I've never told anyone about that dream, so for Yuri to know about something so personal must really mean that right now for some unknown reason he remembers a set of events that were _going_ to happen rather than what _did_ happen. That is the only way to explain how Yuri could know about that hidden passage and exactly where it leads to when he's never been to my castle before. But regardless of how strongly Yuri feels about staying here to help I completely agree with Lord Von Christ that you need to escape from here as soon as possible. I've already let things get out of hand too much already and it will only make things worse for him if Yuri stays. Especially given his current state of confusion."

Murata nodded but added with a knowing smirk, "Well when you put it that way, I guess we only have one option. Say, Lord Von Christ?" he asked and Gunter turned to face him.

"Yes, Your Eminence?"

Grinning mischievously, Murata continued with a wink, "Would you like to run away with me?"

"Eh?"

* * *

Knowing that Yuri would refuse to leave until they helped Sara with this problem anyway, Murata came up with the idea to lure Gerald's men back outside of the castle by riding off with Gunter so that Yuri and the rest of them could slip back inside using the very same passage that he mentioned before to get inside. And when Yuri heard about this plan after he woke up he eagerly agreed to it. Happy to help Sara in any way he could. Besides, from a distance the only distinguishing feature that he and Murata shared was their matching black hair and eyes so it would be all too easy for the soldiers to mistake him for the Demon King while the real one was playing cloak and dagger to get the jump on Gerald this time.

In regards to what they saw the last time they were in the castle everyone decided to keep it quiet for now until the current matter was resolved. Yuri couldn't seem to remember anything anyway so fighting over it wouldn't do either of them any good. Besides, how was Yuri going to react when they told him they saw another version of himself murdering Gerald's soldiers in cold blood…?

As they continued to stealthily prowl the castle Sara took it upon himself to monitor Yuri's behavior more carefully this time for any signs indicating that something strange was about to happen to him again. Sara hadn't noticed it last time mostly because he felt like Yuri was so predictable that there was no need to watch him that closely. He was such an easy person to read and Sara was always amused by Yuri's innocent naiveté.

That was something that Sara both appreciated and envied about Yuri, the fact that he'd been sheltered from most hardships because of his loving retainers that Yuri did not possess the same awareness to most dangers that Sara grew up with his entire life. It was to be expected though since Yuri had grown up in some far away land away from the internal politics, lies, and schemes surrounding most royalty. And unlike Sara, Yuri was loved and adored by everyone he met almost without effort. Something that Sara felt was both a curse and a blessing because Yuri still didn't truly understand what it meant to be hurt and betrayed by people he trusted. There was the time that Conrad betrayed him of course but that was never a true betrayal and Sara felt that if Yuri ever was truly betrayed by someone that close to him, he would lose that innocence forever. Which would either serve to make him stronger in the end, or shatter Yuri's pure heart into a million pieces…

"I still can't believe that none of that stuff I remember actually happened. And yet here we are, using the passage I was talking about," Yuri commented in a hushed tone. "Are you really sure _I'm_ the one who has the messed up memories and not the rest of you guys?"

"Shh, Yuri, not right now! We need to be quiet, remember?" Wolfram hissed, glancing behind them to see if anyone heard them. "We'll talk about it later."

Yuri nodded but still didn't seem pleased with his answer, "Ok, but, you guys are still seriously confusing me. Something really weird must have happened while I was knocked out." Looking back at Sara a little further behind them, he asked, "You're in on it too aren't you, Sara? All this secrecy?"

Looking amused, Sara couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "What can I say? I guess I get a thrill out of seeing you so adorably flustered like that first night we met. But I promise that when this is all over we'll tell you what happened. Let's just focus on showing Gerald what happens when he messes with the wrong people, though it saddens me that it had to come to this. He was always a very skilled general even in the few short years Gerald served me and during my father's time. It's such a pity that he was lying to me all along."

A silence fell over them after that, and by unspoken consent they agreed to stop talking for now and continue to look for Gerald. The plan was to catch him by surprise since he wouldn't expect them to still be in the country and apprehend him first, which would then make it much easier to force his men to surrender once they lost their commander. Because even with their sheer numbers, it would be difficult to defeat the Demon King himself let alone so many skilled swordsman; including Sara's own personal bodyguard, Berias, who was also another force to be reckoned with. Besides which it was only a matter of time before Sara's other troops caught onto Gerald's scheme and returned to help their King take back the castle. And that was exactly who Murata was hoping to come across during their mad dash through the woods.

Before long their small band finally made it outside to the courtyard during their search and ran into the man in question, Gerald. And rather than looking surprised, Gerald seemed very smug when his soldiers stepped out to greet them too. "Well, if it isn't the Demon King. I admit, I'm surprised to see you back here. And look, you've brought Saralegui along with you as well. Were you hoping to trade him for safe passage out of the country? Typical of the Demon tribe to be so treacherous. See what you get for putting your trust in such people, King Saralegui?"

Sara smirked widely and chuckled, "Oh yes, you're one to talk. After all you've just done the exact same thing."

"S-silence!" Gerald snapped angrily, his face flushed red with rage.

Just then, Yuri took a step forward and looked at Gerald with an unexpected amount of sympathy and suddenly offered his hand to him with a gentle smile, "It doesn't have to be this way you know. You still have a choice. You're like a lot of other people in this world, unwilling to let go of your hate even though it took all of our combined efforts to stop the Originators, not just me. We're all the same. Whether we're human or Demon tribe, there is one thing all of us have in common. Each and every one of us is alive, and free to wish for a better future together. But if we continue to hold onto all this hatred and cling to the shadows of the past, the world won't be able to reach towards that future that we all sacrificed so much for. So I'm asking you, as one man to another and not a King, will you lay down your weapons and put an end to this petty scheme? In the end the only thing you'll gain from this is a hallow victory that won't amount to anything when all is said and done."

"Yuri?" Sara gaped, surprised that Yuri was being so forgiving towards a man who lied to his face and was plotting to hand him over to their sworn enemy, Big Shimaron, once his takeover was complete.

Taking his offer as a joke, Gerald laughed at Yuri mockingly and replied, "As if I would believe a single word you say, Demon King. Your kind are nothing more than parasites that need to be put in their place. With so much magical power you think you can just look down on the rest of us like we're lesser beings than you! Just like you're doing now. Therefore my answer is no, I will not give into your demands. Especially when I'm the one holding all the cards now. I'll hand you over to Big Shimaron and then I will rule over Small Shimaron in place of that…child. So hallow or not, I will be sure to relish that victory! Now, capture them!"

Then as if right on cue, Berias dashed forward and cut down several of his soldiers before reaching Gerald and holding one of his blade's to the general's throat. "Whoever dares threaten King Saralegui is my enemy. And I will have you pay for your crimes. Either way, it is clear that you've made your choice, and these are the consequences of those actions."

Soon after uttering those words, they all heard the familiar sound of battle cries coming from just outside the other side of the castle walls. It was the thundering voices of all the soldiers who were loyal to Sara that Gerald had sent away. But when they realized what Gerald was up to, they quickly made their way back to return to the castle. And along the way they had helped Murata and Gunter escape the traitors who were chasing them so that Yuri and the others could save their Kingdom and they were soon joined by many of his faithful citizens as well.

"What is that noise?" Gerald gasped when the gate he had firmly locked himself suddenly burst open and the rest of Small Shimaron's army surged into the castle along with Murata and Gunter. Not to mention the other countless citizens mixed into the crowd who also greatly wished to be of use to their young King.

"King Saralegui, are you all right? You treacherous rebel, Gerald! You have no way out of this. Surrender at once!" demanded a very impressive looking middle-aged man sitting astride a white stallion, who was in fact among one of Sara's most loyalist councilors. Upon realizing that he had been thwarted, as soon as Berias released him Gerald fell to his knees in defeat.

* * *

As promised, once Gerald was dealt with Sara and the others told Yuri what really happened the day before. He was stunned, and visibly trembling at the thought of himself killing anyone. However, when they tried to show Yuri the markings they were shocked to find that Yuri literally couldn't see them. It was the exact opposite to what usually happened because Yuri could see through illusions created through magic and esoteric power alike when no one else could. So whatever that marking was someone was trying very hard to keep it hidden from Yuri, forcing him to forget it the very moment he saw it.

With his voice quivering slightly, Yuri tried his best to process what they were saying to him and repeated, "Now let me get this straight. So up until the point when we were ambushed I was perfectly fine and then the next I collapse without warning and sprouted wings while my evil twin went on a killing spree? Do you have any idea how crazy that all sounds?"

"Well, it's about as crazy as you remembering a past that never happened Yuri," Sara commented as he looked down at Yuri with concern from his seat at the table back in his guestroom at the castle. "Believe me, we were just as hesitant to believe that what we saw was real but that was no illusion. What we don't know yet is if that was in fact you or just someone who looks like you. Either way there is nothing we can do about it right now. We've averted one crisis but Big Shimaron is still on their way even as we speak. Therefore I have taken the liberty of making your travel arrangements."

"But what about…" Yuri began, rising from his seat to face Sara when Sara cut him off with a smile.

"No matter what Big Shimaron may ask of me about you, I'll continue to feign ignorance." Pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts, Sara added kindly, "Besides which I am extremely concerned for your well-being, Yuri. Something strange is happening to you both physically and mentally and staying here won't bring us any closer to the answers nor the solution regarding this mystery. And we don't know how else this power has affected you, so if you were forced to become the Demon King to protect yourself or your retainers, there's no telling what might happen and you might end up killing yourself. I can't risk that."

Yuri looked like there was something else he wanted to say but thought better of it as he bit his lip and fell back into the chair, muttering, "I'm sorry, Sara."

Giving a sideways glance back at Berias, Sara ordered, "Berias, prepare the means necessary to escort them. I'd also like you to spy on Big Shimaron's movements and bring back details on what they're currently up to."

"Understood," Berias bowed and promptly left the room.

"Alright then, I'll do the same," Yosak announced and followed him outside.

Still feeling troubled, Yuri looked up at Sara again. "Sara…"

"It'll be alright. There's nothing to worry about, Yuri." Sara smiled, though this did nothing to quell Yuri's feelings of dread.

He couldn't explain why, but Yuri had a very bad feeling that something very bad was going to happen soon that was even worse than some other version of him killing people. And although his memories of that specific time were being overshadowed Yuri knew that despite everything that they said, all of those memories were real. Not just bits and pieces of those memories; all of them.

Those memories weren't from the past, they were of another world that only existed because of the choices that were made by Yuri and those around him. Somehow a deeper part of Yuri now understood that. That the world responds to the choices made by each person to step into the world born from that choice, a world that only exists for a moment and then disappears forever to prepare a new one. It was for that reason that Yuri tried to offer Gerald a choice, because he had the sinking feeling that he was going to be led down a path that would only end in self-destruction.


	4. The Denial of Choice

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Tsubasa Chronicles, XXXHolic, or anything else associated with Clamp Manga; this is purely fan-made.

 **Note:** Hey everyone, so I was getting a little tired of explaining every little thing to match up with the anime version of Kyo Kara Maoh's 3rd season so this chapter is entirely from the other Yuri's POV to give him some more backstory. Because what I'm trying to do is create a sort of Syaoran Li and Syaoran Clone scenario with a twist, and this is kinda a spoiler but oh well! So this other Yuri is supposed to actually be the Yuri from the Manga version of KKM and the one from the anime is actually considered the alternate one. I'd say more but I don't want to spoil things too much, therefore, I ask you to read on and find out for yourselves! Enjoy!

Chapter 3: The Denial of Choice

 _(On Echo by Mree)_

 _Love, where do the tears go_

 _And where will my feet roam_

 _And why won't my eyes close_

 _Feeding the echo_

 _Until everyone knows_

 _You're never alone_

 _Love unknown_

 _Let your arms unfold_

 _And let your heart be shown_

 _Rest your eyes_

 _While time is on our side_

 _Well I will long for you_

 _Love, where do the tears go_

 _And where will my feet roam_

 _And why won't my eyes close_

 _Feeding the echo_

 _Until everyone knows_

 _You're never alone_

 _Doubt be gone_

 _To bare ourselves in song_

 _Soon to sing along_

 _Love anew_

 _With minds as clear as dew_

 _Well I will long for you_

 _Love, where do the tears go_

 _And where will my feet roam_

 _And why won't my eyes close_

 _Feeding the echo_

 _Until everyone knows_

 _You're never alone_

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in a far unknown world…_

"So you've returned, Yuri," called a soft-spoken voice in the distance that concealed a very intellectual mind. "Tell me, were you able to meet _'him?'_ "

The other Yuri nodded silently and approached the figure standing in the shadow of a tall archway. He returned there immediately after performing the task given to him so his hand was still dripping with hot blood. Noticing this, the figure elegantly lifted Yuri's bloody hand and drew him closer to examine it for any hidden wounds.

"I see that you've been acting recklessly again Yuri. Come, let us tend to your wounds and you can tell me all about them." Pulling Yuri along behind as if he were a small child, the figure brought him into a sparsely decorated room and told him to sit on the bed until they returned.

Yuri obediently sat there in the silence and looked out the window into the darkness. Clearly some time had passed since he departed for the other world that he used to know so well, but Yuri didn't know yet if it was merely a matter of hours or days since the last time he was in this room. All he knew for certain was that seeing them again stirred something within him he'd long forgotten. Hope. But along with that, came an indescribable pain beyond his bodily wounds that threatened to surface…

The way they all looked at him with such fear and distrust made Yuri feel unworthy to stand in their presence again. Ever since _'that day,'_ Yuri had worked tirelessly to make sure that when the time came he would deny himself the privilege of feeling anything remotely close to comfort when it came to seeing them once more. Though his resolve almost wavered and Yuri feared that if he'd stayed there any longer he might have lost control of himself because he wanted so badly to stay, to belong with them again even knowing that none of them were _'his.'_ So to ensure that he could do what needed to be done, Yuri decided to close his heart and repress the burden of all of his unruly emotions. That was his wish, to which this person who was tending to him now happily obliged. Because the reassuring sound of their voices and the memory of their once-smiling faces would have been too agonizing to Yuri otherwise if it wasn't for the help of this mysterious person.

Shortly after Yuri met them, they cast a spell over his heart that would immediately erase everything that caused him pain either in his heart or his body. It was a very powerful spell to be sure but when it came to matters of the heart, a person's true feelings would always prove stronger. That's why as he sat there Yuri suddenly found himself crying silently in the semi-darkness…

His expression remained unchanging but a steady flow of tears continued to roll down his cheeks and fall soundlessly down to his hands. For out of all the faces he'd seen that moment when he appeared again in the other world, it was Conrad's that made Yuri jerk suddenly and try to force himself not to let all those painful memories about him come rushing back. This was no easy task since Conrad held a very special place in Yuri's heart, even now.

The two of them were once closer than anyone else for many reasons, one of which was his very name. As of yet Conrad was unaware of the importance of that name and the destiny that was etched into the stars because of it. Receiving that name was the beginning of everything that Yuri was or would ever come to be. It was the one connection that did not break even when the world they'd once known was torn asunder when time was wound back by the wish of a certain man and a young boy who both desired the same thing. Thanks to that, the people who existed in the other world were able to stay relatively on the same path that Yuri followed back in _'his time'_ to destroy the Originators and save that world from certain destruction; Yuri knew it immediately the moment he saw the version of himself that now existed in that drastically altered world.

A world that this Yuri-no, the original Yuri-no longer belonged in.

* * *

While cleaning Yuri's wounds, the figure asked him what happened in great detail. Knowing that even the smallest thing could greatly impact their tactics in moving things along properly. All Yuri had to do at that time was bear witness to the carving of that seal onto his other self and make them _'question'_ about what those wings were which would begin paving the way towards the desired future.

Knowing Conrad and the others though, when it came to Yuri's safety they were bound to start searching for answers about those wings anyway regardless of whether he appeared before them or not. However since they would not find the answers in their world Yuri needed to drop subtle hints that those wings had something to do with the power of space and time. Killing those soldiers was unnecessary, but one of the side effects of closing his heart was that Yuri unfortunately no longer hesitated when he was forced to take a life to protect his own. Especially now that there was nothing and no one left to protect Yuri but himself…

By the time his caretaker returned thankfully the tears had stopped, but, as expected the redness at the rims of his eyes did not go unnoticed. "Yuri, have you been crying?" they asked, rinsing the cloth again and cleaning the cut across Yuri's cheek.

"No," Yuri replied lifelessly.

The figure chuckled. "As always, you are a terrible liar. Still, I will not press the issue if you don't wish to talk about it." Lightly stroking his unwounded cheek with their delicate fingers, the figure added as more of an after-thought, "It must have been hard for you to see them again and not be able to tell them anything yet. But you did well Yuri, and now we can proceed to the next phase without too much concern. That won't be for a while yet though so please try to get some rest once I'm finished dressing your wounds. And if you are worried about having another fore dream I can give you something at least for tonight. Just remember that in order to make sure that nothing happens to the _'Yuri'_ in the other world I need your unique powers to see the path he is on now and if it coincides with the intended time and place we need them to reach."

Folding his hand over theirs, Yuri closed his eyes and simply said, "Thank you."

"I am taking that as a yes then?" they smiled lightly in response before setting back to work.

These wounds clearly didn't happen while Yuri was in the other world, at least not _'that world'_ so the figure deduced that they must have been inflicted somewhere along his journey. The majority of Yuri's wounds were burns and long scratches which suggested that perhaps he'd fought against a sorcerer or a monster from some other dimension during his travels just before finally reaching his destination. Either way even with Yuri's exceptional healing magic these would take at least a few weeks to heal at most so he would need plenty of rest until then, and during that time Yuri would almost assuredly have another dream. All they had to do was wait until he did.

"There, all finished," his caretaker said and began quietly cleaning up the rest of the medical supplies and then stood up. "Now I'm sure you're famished from your long journey so I'll have something brought up to your room later. For now though I think it would be best for you to sleep for a while after using up so much of your magic. There is also something I need to take care of as well now that you're back. Just wait here a moment-"

Just as they turned to leave, Yuri automatically reached out and grabbed the hem of their robe as if silently pleading for them to stay. Because in spite of supposedly having no emotions anymore, Yuri was in a lot of pain in his heart and unbearably lonely right now. So regarding Yuri with unexpected tenderness, the figure set aside everything they'd been carrying on the nearest table and silently embraced him, stroking his silky black hair affectionately and hugging him tightly. No other words needed to be said between them, because they understood each other.

The only thing that either of them needed was for someone to support the painful choices they were making for the sake of their loved ones; even to the point of sacrificing everything but their own lives to achieve their goals. It was a difficult and thankless task but Yuri at least was used to that by now. The entire time he lived in that other world there were always people telling him what to do and not to do, creating friction between them even though Yuri was supposed to be the Demon King and not the other way around. He always met with resistance even when what he was trying to do was for everyone's benefit…

And so there were times when Yuri's other consciousness as the Demon King took matters into his own hands because no one else was willing to do what it would take to change the hearts of others and put an end to the long standing hatred between their two races simply because of how different they were. The Yuri of that world now had even channeled some of those feelings momentarily when he offered to pardon Gerald for his crimes if he would just take the first step towards change and try to understand him.

After a while the figure slowly pulled back and gently smiled at Yuri as they lifted the palm of their hand and placed it in front of Yuri's face. It glowed for a moment and then his eyes drooped dangerously low and he fell over, unable to stay awake. Then they tucked Yuri in and began to step out of the room once they'd regathered the medical supplies when out of nowhere they uttered aloud, "He's still such a child. For him to have to shoulder such a burden alone at such a young age and to have suffered such a loss it's really no wonder that not even my seal was able to contain what is truly in his heart. However, this task we've undertaken, is a task for him alone. Though, that will not stop me from wishing that this child will be able to reclaim some measure of happiness or at the very least be reunited with those important people in his life. For no one is meant to live alone. Never forget that, Yuri. There are still people who wish for nothing but your happiness in this or any world. I will grant that wish, without fail. Because to me, Yuri, you are…"


	5. Foretelling Dreams

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Tsubasa Chronicles, XXXHolic, or anything else associated with Clamp Manga; this is purely fan-made.

Chapter 4: Foretelling Dreams

That same night after Berias and Yosak returned with their reports, they started to discuss their plans to escape in more detail now that they had a better idea of what their enemy was up to. "How long will it be until a ship is ready?" Conrad asked Sara once everyone realized that the only way to elude Big Shimaron's army was to escape by sea.

As the rest of them turned to face him, Sara replied, "Not to worry. I'll have everything arranged in no time."

Crossing his arms Conrad nodded. And while looking over at Yuri, he commented when this thought suddenly sprang to mind, "Since he's going through such lengths to capture His Majesty I have a feeling that Ranjeel must have purposely left a sea route open to try and lull us into a false sense of security. Because at sea there's really nowhere to hide, whereas on land we could always find somewhere out of the way to lay low and wait for the chance to slip through a weakened area in their defenses. The likelihood of being discovered though is about the same either way, so going by ship is our safest bet."

Sara nodded in approval, though a little surprised that Conrad even brought it up to be honest at this point since they'd already finished making their plans. "That's a very good point, Lord Weller." Turning towards Yuri and the others next, he said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I must attend to Big Shimaron's messengers and I think it's better if I go alone. After all, there's still a chance that I can convince them that Gerald's message about Yuri being here was a lie fueled by his own ambitions to steal the throne away from me and he was only looking to use them as a show of force, even though his own followers were few compared to an entire army."

"No way! I can't let you handle this by yourself!" Yuri protested. "What if he threatens to retaliate against Small Shimaron after he finds out that I am here and you lied about it?"

"Ah, so they _are_ going to find out then...?" Sara joked with a mischievous smile, hinting at what happened before when Yuri saw several visions of the past earlier that turned out to be true.

Feeling flustered by his remark, Yuri stammered, "I-I never said that! I only said _'what if.'_ Geez, don't put words in my mouth Sara."

Putting a supportive hand on Yuri's shoulder, Murata furrowed his brows, "Shibuya, I think Saralegui might actually be right about this. Even though some of what you saw while you were unconscious was real, there's no guarantee that everything will happen the same way even if you have another dream like that. What happened with those mysterious wings is a good example of this. And all things considering we actually got off pretty lightly this time."

"Lightly? You call seeing another Yuri killing those soldiers like that getting off-" Wolfram started to rant when he caught himself and shook his head. "Regardless of what is, or was, or whatever the important thing is to focus on the present and get the hell out of here while we still can. Whoever it is that's messing with Yuri, I won't let them get away with it!"

Smiling despite how troubled he still felt about leaving Sara to deal with the messengers, Yuri said, "It's ok Wolfram, I'm worried too but I'm sure that we'll figure it all out eventually. We always do and I have confidence in everyone. There's no way that guy could have been me! And even if by some crazy chance he was I'm sure that he was being mind-controlled or something because no matter how mad I get when people are doing bad things I'd never go as far as killing them." Yuri shuttered since the thought still sent shivers up his spine but he continued with a sheepish grin, "Besides, I know that if it ever came to that you would stop me. It's just that you were so worried about the real me and caught off guard by what happened, not to mention we were being chased down by Gerald's lackeys! So I don't blame you one bit for hesitating, anyone would have. I'm just sorry that I made you worry so much about me again. And that is exactly why we're staying! This isn't over yet, and there is one more obstacle we have to overcome before I'll feel safe leaving Sara's side."

* * *

Once again having no choice but to go along with Yuri's wishes, it was decided that he and the others would remain hidden in a secret room while Sara conversed with the messenger's to make sure nothing bad happened. And again, it was Murata's idea to do so. However, while Sara found Murata's insight useful in some ways at times it proved to feel more like a hindrance when it came to making plans to strengthen Yuri's faith in him. But as long as they kept Yuri safe Sara could care less if anything happened to the others. Yuri was all that mattered, and out of all of them he was the most fascinating. Though Lord Weller might prove useful as well later on...

So after Sara put his spell on Gerald just as planned he calmly waited for the messengers and before too long, the doors opened and two men came into the audience chamber and approached the throne; both of them dressed in the usual white and gold uniform of Big Shimaron. And once they reached the threshold, they both bowed in unison.

"King Saralegui. We have arrived here with an order from our King, Ranjeel the second. It is commanded that you relinquish to us the Demon King, whom you are giving refuge."

"The Demon King? What in the world are you talking about?" Sara asked, feigning innocence just like he promised to do.

"Don't try playing dumb! We've received this information from a reliable source," the other messenger snarled.

"The absurdities that someone has been telling you are not my concern, but I cannot give you what doesn't exist here in the first place. Please leave." Sara requested calmly, letting a bit of irritation slip into his tone.

Taking in a sharp breath, Yuri stared at Sara and while resting a hand over Julia's pendant tucked away under his shirt, he said, "It's the same."

"What?" Wolfram blinked and everyone turned to look at him.

"I saw this. I saw this exact same scene happen in my dream." Yuri explained, his chest tightening as the feeling of dread grew stronger inside of him. "And if it is the same, then Gerald is just about to burst through the doors-" The rest of his words got caught in Yuri's throat when the doors boomed open and just as Yuri predicted, Gerald staggered into the chamber; his eyes completely clouded over staring at Sara with a crazed expression on his face.

"Gerald!" Sara exclaimed, acting utterly shocked.

As everyone whirled around to see what was happening they saw that Gerald was breathing very hard as he slowly advanced, his sword drawn and gleaming dangerously. As Gerald stared up at Sara with his crazy bloodthirsty eyes , he growled his name once under his breath before taking a few more threatening steps forward. And despite knowing what would happen next if he went out there now, Yuri let out a worried cry and tried to enter the throne room to stop Gerald from hurting anyone!

But then Wolfram hastily grabbed him and hissed, "Don't Yuri!"

"Calm yourself, Your Majesty!" Conrad insisted as well.

"No!" Yuri snapped as quietly as he could, struggling harder against Wolfram's grip and surprising them with how uncharacteristically frantic Yuri seemed to the point where even Yosak had to join in to help restrain him. "If we don't do something, Sara's going to get hurt and Gerald is-! He's going to die! That's what I saw!"

"What!?" they gasped in unison.

"Berias protect the messengers." Sara ordered in the meantime, getting into his _'act.'_

"Sir!" Berias confirmed and lunged forward in front of the two men, creating a human barrier between them and Gerald.

Overcome by a abrupt feeling of pure and savage rage, Gerald violently charged at Sara and he was forced to leap back to avoid it. But the strength behind Gerald's blow was so powerful that it sent a shock wave from where his sword struck the floor and Sara was sent flying across the room. He then crashed into the window just behind his throne; bending part of the frame in the process.

Sara sat up slowly, blinking the blood out of his eyes from a large cut on his forehead, and then staring back over towards Gerald, stunned. Where in the world did Gerald get that kind of power? All he did was instill the idea of attacking him in Gerald's mind, but not to the point of making it so Gerald would end up actually trying to kill him...

As if in answer to his unspoken question, a sinister blackish-red aura started to form around Gerald as he advanced on Sara again who was still struggling to stand up again. "You! You never deserved to be our King! If only he hadn't stopped me, I could have...killed-I should have killed both you and that brat the moment I-!" Gerald ranted hysterically.

Ripping out a large shard of glass that had embedded itself in Sara's right shoulder, he cried out in pain, glaring up at Gerald. "Is this what you wanted Gerald? To turn Big Shimaron's King against me and betray me in spite of all the trust I bestowed upon you? Is this to be my reward for keeping you as my general even though there were others in the council who were against it? Men who so eagerly wanted to serve me in that honorable position for the sake of the betterment of our country once I ascended the throne? Truly, are you so blinded by your hate for me that you would kill me in front of these innocent messengers from our motherland who only came here for answers?"

Looking down on Sara with contempt, Gerald answered with a feral grin, "Yes! If it meant sparing Small Shimaron's people from suffering at the whims of an ignorant child! A brat that knows nothing beyond his own selfishness! Now DIE!"

Sara frowned deeply, bracing himself when he made a last minute decision and-

"NO SARA! STOP!" Yuri screamed and fell forward through the hidden door as he tried to rush to Sara's side and tripped, and Conrad knelt down next to him to help him up again.

"That's..!" one of the messengers shouted in alarm.

"The Demon tribe!" the other growled in surprise.

Behind them, without warning Gerald made a horrible choking sound and suddenly spouted a gush of blood from his mouth before he fell to the ground, motionless. And when they raised their eyes up to where Sara now stood, he was holding the glass shard between his hands which were trembling slightly. To protect himself once he knew he'd lost control over Gerald, Sara used the jagged piece of glass as a dagger and stabbed his former general in the chest, knowing that he would have been killed otherwise.

Letting the shard slip through his bleeding fingers, Sara stuttered as if in apology, "Gerald, he...left me no choice."

Once their attention returned to Yuri and the others now that they had revealed themselves the messenger's expressions hardened. "That...Th-The Demon King...! He's here after all!" One of the messengers stammered as the two of them stepped back from behind Berias, their own swords finally drawn from their scabbards.

"That black hair and those black eyes...it can only be him!"

"W-We order you, King Saralegui, to personally bring the Demon King to our encampment! Tomorrow, before the sun sets!"

The other nodded, "If you refuse, Small Shimaron will suffer severe consequences!" And then the two of them hurriedly ran off.

Berias of course immediately hastened to Sara's side as soon as they were gone and without hesitating he began using his healing arts on the deep cuts in his hands before moving onto his shoulder. His eyes were set in a stern glare as he worked and silently berated himself for allowing his King to come to harm. But none of them foresaw this either...

None of them that is, but Yuri.


	6. Crimson Eyes

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Tsubasa Chronicles, XXXHolic, or anything else associated with Clamp Manga; this is purely fan-made.

 **Note:** Urgh, I'm so indecisive! I didn't like the end of the last version either so after reading the newest chapter of Tsubasa World Chronicles it finally dawned on me. Instead of inserting one of my OC's just yet I think I'll introduce an AU version of a character from one of Clamp's works. I mean this is a multi-crossover in a way considering the way Tsubasa Chronicles usually works. At any rate, sorry for redoing it yet again but as always I hope you like it.

Chapter 5: Crimson Eyes

 _(Castle of Glass by Linkin Park)_

 _Take me down to the river bend_

 _Take me down to the fighting end_

 _Wash the poison from off my skin_

 _Show me how to be whole again_

 _Fly me up on a silver wing_

 _Past the black where the sirens sing_

 _Warm me up in a nova's glow_

 _And drop me down to the dream below_

 _'Cause I'm only a crack in this castle of glass_

 _Hardly anything there for you to see_

 _For you to see_

 _Bring me home in a blinding dream_

 _Through the secrets that I have seen_

 _Wash the sorrow from off my skin_

 _Show me how to be whole again_

 _'Cause I'm only a crack in this castle of glass_

 _Hardly anything there for you to see_

 _For you to see_

 _'Cause I'm only a crack in this castle of glass_

 _Hardly anything else I need to be_

 _'Cause I'm only a crack in this castle of glass_

 _Hardly anything there for you to see_

 _For you to see_

 _For you to see_

* * *

Sara gave Yuri a sympathetic look before returning his gaze towards Gerald's lifeless body laying at his feet and said, "I'm sorry you had to see that Yuri. I should have been prepared for more of his underhanded treachery. I just never imagined Gerald would take it so far…"

"I tried to warn him that it would come to this," Yuri explained in an unusually empty tone as he also stared down at Gerald. "Somehow I knew this would happen. And I tried to give him the chance to save himself, to change his future. But this is-"

Concerned, Conrad walked over beside him and did his best to console Yuri. "Your Highness, even if you were somehow able to foresee this, Gerald made his own decision. We were able to stop him before primarily thanks to the reinforcements that His Eminence and Gunter were able to bring back. And this time there was obviously something dark controlling him so I doubt there is anything else you could have done to stop him. We understand now that you were trying to prevent him from making another grave mistake, but sometimes despite our best efforts it's impossible to save everyone. Especially when it's from themselves."

"He's right Yuri. If there is anyone to blame for his death, it's me," Sara offered, waving Berias away so that he could approach his clearly distraught friend. "I should have noticed that there was something wrong with him during our interrogation earlier. And now I must take full responsibility for his actions."

"You'd better," Wolfram snarled venomously. "I said this before too, but you had no right to put Yuri in so much danger just to satisfy yourself. But this has gone on long enough and we have to get out of here, now."

"No…" Yuri said shakily, starting to remember more of the truth after seeing that red aura. "You're wrong, Wolfram. I can't leave things like this. If I leave now, then everything we went through since then will all be for nothing. I have to go back. I have to go back to that place… _'_ "

Trailing off, Yuri staggered back and slammed against the wall as the strangest feeling rippled through him. It was the same as before, that unsettling feeling of detachment from his own body. Then he soundlessly collapsed to the ground, as if all of his strength had suddenly left him.

Alarmed, Conrad lifted Yuri up about halfway off the floor and even through the dark fabric he could see the outline of that marking on Yuri's back burning like a red-hot iron. That's when he realized something and turned to Murata, telling him gravely, "Your Eminence, the pattern—its growing bigger."

* * *

 _The next thing they knew, the world beneath them fell away when a ripple of crimson light spread from where Yuri lay and they were pulled into a dream. They were surrounded on all sides by an impenetrable blackness broken only by the subtle glow from their own bodies. Then the darkness shattered to reveal the ruins of Covenant Castle. The entire Great Demon Kingdom was nothing but a smoldering ruin; the streets drenched crimson in the blood of its fallen citizens littering the ground._

 _There wasn't a single living soul in sight until Yuri emerged from the castle, covered in blood, and staggered into the empty streets. His eyes were cold and lifeless as they watched him pass by completely unaware of their presence. Everything Yuri cared about was gone. Everyone. And he had been powerless to stop it from happening._

" _It looks like you survived after all," came the voice of a lone figure who appeared out of the ash falling softly over the streets. It was a young woman with long raven hair and glowing red eyes that glinted like a pair of rubies walking towards him, carrying what looked a Japanese katana at her side that was dripping with some sort of oily black substance._

 _Growing angry, Yuri grabbed her by the collar and demanded, "I don't care about any of that! Just tell me where my friends are! I know that you know!"_

 _Closing her eyes, the girl replied, "I hate to tell you this but, it looks like they've been overshadowed. They don't exist in this version of the world. You're the only one left now."_

" _That's…impossible…" Yuri stammered, falling to the ground. "How-"_

 _Leaning against one of the broken walls, the girl sighed, "I don't know for sure. But I think it's because you've become what we call a_ 'Revenant.' _"_

 _Yuri blinked. "A Revenant?"_

" _Yes, it means_ 'someone who returns _.' To put it simply, you have been given the power to travel into either past or alternate versions of yourself. That's probably the reason why you were spared when everyone else was eclipsed when those monsters appeared along with me through a chasm in time and space that briefly connected our worlds," removing his hand from her collar, she held her sword up to eye level and told him, "I know exactly what you're feeling right now, Yuri. A long time ago, I lost everything I cared about once too. I couldn't get it back, but maybe you still can. As long as you wish for it strongly enough."_

 _Hesitantly backing away from her, Yuri finally asked, "Who exactly are you anyway? There wasn't enough time for me to ask before."_

" _Saya. Saya Kisaragi," she replied, lowering her sword to one side. Looking around though when they both heard a low rumble in the distance, Saya put her other hand on the hilt of her sword and frowned, "We should get out of here before more of those monsters appear. I can take you somewhere safe, but after that you're on your own."_

" _Where will I go?" Yuri asked tearfully, "I tried going back to Japan but it didn't work no matter how many times I tried it. And if everyone is really gone then I…"_

 _Suddenly gripping his upper arm tightly, Saya scowled, "Don't waste time feeling sorry for yourself. That isn't going to bring anyone back! If you have something that you know that you need to do, then do it. You already have the power you need to save them. You just haven't been able to use it because your heart is full of anger, confusion, and doubt. Now I won't force you to come with me, but I won't help you either if you're not willing to help yourself first."_

 _Looking startled for a moment, Yuri finally wiped his tears and wrenched his arm out of her grip. Then with a determined look, he asked her seriously, "Tell me, what do I need to do to bring everyone back?"_

 _Nodding in satisfaction that he had taken her advice, Saya answered, "First of all, just know that no matter how strong this power is there is now power in heaven or earth that can bring back the dead. Those who have died here will never be able to come back the same way they were before. They'll only come back as new people in their next lives. As for your friends, their living souls have overwritten so the world they're in now considers them a natural part of it. It will be different with you though because those wings will separate your past soul from your body and replace it with your present one. And that part of you will fall into a deep sleep outside of time in order to preserve your past once the damage to it has been undone."_

" _Damage? You mean, all this happened because of someone messing up my past?" Yuri asked, dumbstruck._

" _That's the only explanation I could come up with," Saya said as she started walking away from him. Then, glancing back at Yuri just as the red glow of her eyes died away to reveal a shade of deep black, Saya called, "So, have you made your choice…?"_

* * *

Once the dream reached its conclusion for the time being, Conrad and the others woke up and got back up on their feet. With the exception of Yuri who was still unconscious. None of them even realized they had fallen asleep when that vision took a hold of them. Was that another part of this strange power of those wings too…?

"This is bad," Murata said grimly after Yosak helped him steady himself. "We should have believed Shibuya when he said that something was wrong. If that dream was any indication of the future the other Shibuya warned us about then we have to take this very seriously." Crossing his arms though, Murata added under his breath, "But if this Yuri is from the future, then who was the other one?"

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Berias asked his King worriedly, who was kneeling on the floor.

Using his throne to pull himself up rather than take Berias's hand, Sara shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not Berias. While we were unconscious I must have lost quite a bit of blood due to my injuries. I need you to summon a doctor to tend to my injuries while you assist Yuri for me. You're the only person who can help him right now since you were able to detect the source of his new found abilities and deduce that they're now deeply ingrained into his spirit. That needs to take priority over my own injuries since they are not life threatening."

"But Your Majesty, I should be the one to-" Berias began to protest when Sara cut him off with a sharp look.

"That wasn't a request Berias. Now go."

Bowing reluctantly, Berias replied, "Yes Sir." And then he dashed from the room, eager to finish his task as quickly as possible for the sake of his young King.

The horror that Yuri's friends had witnessed inside of that dream disturbed them greatly, but, the thing that concerned them the most at the moment was how it must have affected Yuri. Conrad could only imagine what it must have been like to not only have their Kingdom assailed by monsters but to have to face them alone like that. And some part of him wondered if the dark power that possessed Gerald had something to do with these monsters that the girl was referring to. There weren't any left thanks to the efforts of that strange girl so it was impossible to tell just how powerful they were to have caused such devastation in their wake. He was just glad that she was there to help Yuri in their stead when it happened.

"I can't believe this is happening," Gunter commented to break the silence. "Is what we saw really the future that the other King Yuri was trying to warn us about?"

Unexpectedly, it was Wolfram who replied in a level tone, "Even if it was, that still doesn't fully explain what's happening to Yuri right now. It doesn't make sense for there to be two of him if what that Saya character said is true. The stuff that Yuri ' _remembered'_ before must have been from his memories of things that happened to him in his own time. Only now he's stuck in the body of the version of himself from the time that those events took place for him and I guess it must have affected the memories of his soul and his body to the point where he couldn't tell which ones were real. That would explain how he knew about certain things even though this is our first-and hopefully last-visit to Small Shimaron. Those things really did happen to him. They just didn't happen to us because everything is getting screwed up."

"I'm impressed Lord Belifeld," Murata commented with a proud smile. "You're handling this better than I thought you would. And you also came to the same conclusion as me about Shibuya's mental condition."

Snorting, Wolfram remarked with a worried expression, "It's my job to protect Yuri with my life. So of course I need to protect his heart as well and this whole mess can't be good for him. He needs us to be more vigilant than ever. Especially if he can't take care of things himself in this state of mind. As his retainer and fiancé my role is to protect him at all costs. Especially if his worst enemy right now turns out to come from his own mind."

Trying to lighten the mood, Yosak interjected. "That's all well and good but need I remind you that we still have another problem? Big Shimaron isn't gonna quite until they get their grubby hands on the young man. And if someone is messing up his past or whatever, this time at least it might be too dangerous for us to take action without knowing what His Highness knows about how things are supposed to be. Don't you agree Captain?"

Conrad nodded. "He's right. Only Yuri knows how we should proceed from here. And knowing him I'm sure that he'll do his best to only tell us the bare minimum of what we need to know so it won't cause some sort of paradox. That is, if everything that's happened since those wings manifested hasn't already…"


	7. Fractals of Reality

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Tsubasa Chronicles, XXXHolic, or anything else associated with Clamp Manga; this is purely fan-made.

 **Note:** I couldn't sleep so I started writing. Been ages since I updated anything and I feel bad about that. And in this story, I wanted to add some small tribute as it were to one of my other KMM fanfictions, "The Ice King" since its technically a slight AU I figured it'd be ok to add parts from my other stories in here and consider them "alternate timelines/realities" which basically makes up the entire TRC universe. I have no idea if what I just said made any sense but yeah, I tried to explain at least. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter and please leave a review if you have the time. Also, since I probably won't update again anytime soon since I'm heading out of town I hope you all have a Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday! See you all next year!

Chapter 6: Fractals of Reality

 _(The Swan Song by Within Temptation)_

 _Winter has come for me, can't carry on_

 _The chains to my life are strong_

 _But soon they'll be gone_

 _I'll spread my wings one more time_

 _Is it a dream?_

 _All the ones I have loved calling out my name_

 _The sun warms my face_

 _All the days of my life, I see them passing me by_

 _In my heart I know I can let go_

 _In the end I will find some peace inside_

 _New wings are growing tonight_

 _Is it a dream?_

 _All the ones I have loved calling out my name_

 _The sun warms my face_

 _All the days of my life, I see them passing me by_

 _As I am soaring I'm one with the wind_

 _I am longing to see you again, it's been so long_

 _We will be together again_

 _Is it a dream?_

 _All the ones I have loved calling out my name_

 _The sun warms my face_

 _All the days of my life, I see them passing me by_

* * *

When Yuri finally came to a few hours later after the sun had fallen low in the sky, there was a different air about him. He looked forlorn yet strangely resolved too. Ignoring their usual questions about how he was feeling and their fussing, Yuri looked directly at Murata and there was a deathly serious look in his eyes that made them immediately fall silent when they saw it. Whatever he had to say looked important and they wanted to hear it too. But, what Yuri did say to Murata was the last thing they expected…

"Murata, I need to ask you something," Yuri began, waiting for his best friend to come closer.

"Sure, what is it Shibuya?" Murata replied with a light smile, trying to be a pillar of strength as usual during this uncertain time.

Looking down at his hands and closing his eyes for a moment, Yuri looked back up into his eyes and asked, "If I told you that there's something I have to do but I can't tell you what it is, can you trust me enough not to get involved? No matter what?"

Hearing this the others exchanged worried looks.

Noting their silence, Yuri continued, "I saw it all. That dream. But…it wasn't just a dream. It was a memory. I don't really understand it myself but the truth is-"

"Yuri! Thank goodness you're alright!" Sara exclaimed upon bursting into the room, his own wounds bound and mostly healed.

Yuri smiled tiredly. "You too Sara. How's your hand?"

"The cut was shallow so it will heal quickly and with any luck there will be no scars," Sara replied. Then becoming serious again, he said, "I've prepared a ship for you as planned so you must escape tonight. There is no other way. I will have to deal with Big Shimaron somehow myself."

Yuri shook his head and said, "It's too late now, they know I'm here. We can't fool them anymore…besides I-"

He then gripped the blankets on his bed tightly with both fists, resisting the overwhelming urge to burst out and tell them everything he knew was about to happen. Because to him, it already had at least the first time. Yuri knew what was at stake if he changed anything more than it needed to be. And what was going to happen differently than before too. There were so many choices he knew they had to make or else their true future would cease to exist, erasing both the good and the bad experiences they shared up until _'that day'_ when this power was engraved upon his soul and brought him to the past. There was only one vital moment Yuri had to prevent from happening somewhere here in his past. The question now was how he was supposed to figure out what it was besides what happened with Gerald…

Knowing the things Yuri knew about their pasts because of what he learned in the future, especially about Sara's and not being able to say anything was heartbreaking. But now that he remembered everything it wasn't exactly something Yuri could pretend not to know in front of them without difficulty. Even though their lives, their futures, all depended on his silence and Yuri's choices from then on…

It was almost too much to bare.

"Yuri? What's the matter?" Sara gently unfolded Yuri's fingers from the cloth and held them in his. "You can tell us. Did you have another vision?"

Yuri involuntarily flinched, silently answering his question. Then he lowered his head and replied in a pained voice, "I did, but I can't talk about it. Don't you understand? What _'is'_ to you guys and what _'was'_ for me have already started to change because Gerald was never supposed to die like that. And the dream you guys were pulled into though, that wasn't my future you saw, that was a glimpse of the other Yuri's past. He lost everything. His home, his friends, his family, even his world. But I…I came from a different future, the one we had together here in this world; or this reality of it anyway. I was given the same power as him somehow, because I'm the closest existence to his. Or I guess when I think about it, he's not the _'other'_ Yuri Shibuya…I am…"

"Yuri…" Sara blinked, his eyes softening. "What are you saying, I don't understand what you-"

Gripping his arm Yuri cried out earnestly, "Please, you guys have to trust me! And Sara, what the other Yuri said to you before, don't ever forget that there will always be an equal price to pay! You can't get something back without losing something as equally important to you in return. Especially when it's something that you never knew you lost in the first place. You're not the same person the other Yuri knew in his world! Your life up until now, your heart, and the choices you will make belong only to you and no one else. Everything changes, but nothing changes back, especially not people when they meet someone they consider important to them." Unable to help it, Yuri stole a glance at Berias before letting go of Sara's arm, letting his own drop lifelessly at his side.

Finally looking at his worried friends Yuri smiled tiredly, "Sorry about my outburst there but I've also made my choice too. I'm going to stay here and go to meet with Ranjeel. It's up to me to do what I can to make things right. I wouldn't change a single moment that led me to the future I came from. That's why I want to go back to where everyone is waiting for me. But before I can…there's something I have to stop from happening. I don't know what it is and I was too late to save Gerald but the other Yuri, since he's another me, just being in the same place as him helped me remember. He helped me become _'aware'_ that something was wrong and I'm not the same as I was when all this happened the first time. The rest you just need to trust me on." Looking out the window, Yuri said to himself, "Everything will be ok, right?"

* * *

A familiar yet surreal feeling settled over Yuri as he and Sara rode in the carriage on their way to meet with King Ranjeel and his army. His friends had prodded him for more info on what he meant by his earlier statements but Yuri refused to tell them anything, asking over and over only that they trust in him. It must have felt strange, having Yuri know more than they did and for him to so adamantly withhold that knowledge when usually it was the other way around. At least in Yuri's case.

He looked nervous and a true sense of dread filled Yuri's eyes, Sara could see it as plain as day. Still, he didn't wish to add to Yuri's anxiety and thus remained silent during their trip. That is, until Yuri finally broke the silence himself with a rather peculiar comment.

"Hey Sara?" Yuri began.

Peering up at him, Sara answered with a kind smile, "Hmm? What is it?"

"This is kinda random so sorry for asking out of nowhere but, do you have a last name? I never thought about it before so I'm curious," it was obvious Yuri was looking for anything to even remotely get his mind off things so Sara decided to amuse him with an answer.

"Not exactly, not all countries require last names and in Shimaron not many do. Titles are more common or they are known by their…ancestry," a moment of bitterness slipped through his tone but Sara was quick to cover it up by asking in return. "Why do you ask? From what I've heard you have a rather long full name yourself. And I have also heard you refer to His Eminence as _'Murata'_ when that is not his first name and in turn he calls you _'Shibuya.'_ Is that a common practice in the Great Demon Kingdom?"

Yuri snickered, "Wow way to put me back on the spot Sara. Anyway, no it's not a common thing in the Great Demon Kingdom, but Murata and I both spent most of our lives the same country where it is. Names are important titles too, whether its last names or first names," happy to have something else to talk about Yuri felt really smart and was eager to explain this to Sara, since he usually sucked at history, so he got really into his explanation. "Where we come from its common to call people by their last name unless they're friends or family. I guess we just got used to calling each other that even though I've been close friends with Murata for over a year now, well better than I knew him in middle school. So, if we wanted to start calling each other by our first name I guess we could without adding a title to it. Then I could call him Ken-Kun I suppose. Geez that sounds weird!" Yuri laughed.

Curious, Sara asked, "And what does the _'kun'_ mean? Is it similar to the title the Ten Nobles in your country use? _'Von'_ I believe is what it is."

Yuri blinked, "What? No way! Von is like a middle name for those guys. Kun is-"

The rest of the ride was spent with Yuri talking about names and titles, unaware that there was great significance in talking about it. For there was another important part about names that Yuri mentioned that would become important later on. Very important indeed…

Before they knew it, the carriage arrived at the meeting place and all the tension returned to Yuri's features. He did his best to hide it but it didn't help much. And Sara asked if he was still willing to go through with this and after taking a deep breath, Yuri straightened himself up and nodded, looking resolved.

"I already decided to do this so I will. There's no backing out now and I believe in everyone. I just have to do what I can. Let's go." And with that, Yuri stepped forward and followed Sara out of the carriage.

A cool breeze rippled across the grass as they walked across the vast open field. There were trees on either side of them and Big Shimaron's army looming ahead of them. The memories of the last time Yuri was here kept bubbling to the surface of his thoughts. He tried not to think about it but with every step closer they took to the other side the greater his anxiety grew. Sara was even tempted to give Yuri's clenched hand a gentle touch to reassure him but dared not risk it in case one of the sentries saw it.

"Don't look so anxious Yuri, your retainers will most certainly come to your rescue and I have soldiers stationed nearby. We don't want Ranjeel to see any weakness because trust me, he will exploit and take the chance to mock you. Don't give him that chance," Sara said calmly, his eyes focused on the opposing army while he stole a glance towards their right, not really knowing why.

His original plan was to make it look like he risked his life to protect Yuri from an assassination attempt but after seeing how unstable this strange new power made him Sara decided not to risk it. Yuri was still far too valuable to him to lose now to some unknown power. A shame this opportunity would be wasted but Sara was certain he'd see Yuri again and that what he said to console him was true; that his retainers would not fail to rescue their beloved King no matter what.

At least in that regard he was grateful to them for keeping such a close eye on Yuri. It really was too bad that the other _'event'_ Yuri recalled happening when they stole a moment alone together in that crypt never happened. Sara was also curious about what else Yuri knew about the future and more importantly, his past. That glance Yuri gave Berias before did not escape Sara's notice. Just what had he learned about them in his time? Perhaps the next time they met, Sara would secure a moment alone with Yuri and find out…

Distracted by this momentary thought, Sara was startled when Yuri suddenly shouted, "Sara, look out!" and he was shoved forward.

Sara reached out with his bandaged hands to break the fall and winced in pain, but when blood started dripping on the grass beside him he whirled around to see a black arrow protruding from Yuri's shoulder blade. Hot blood soaked Yuri's sleeve as he staggered, clutching the wound with his free hand.

And just then they heard Ranjeel bellow from his side of the field, "You fools! Which one of you shot that arrow?! I never gave that order! Who is responsible-!"

 _Jiing_

His raging was cut short when the same sound Yuri and his friends heard at the castle rang out. The air itself seemed to still as it resounded, giving everyone with power the strangest sensation, as if they were floating in deep water and sensed something coming from above, like a hand reaching down to bring them out again into the warmth and sunlight.

"What the hell is that sound?! Where is it coming from?" Ranjeel snarled, looking around as his equally confused men.

Looking up above the Demon King, Janis pointed, "Your Majesty look there."

 _Jiing jiing…_

As the sound grew louder a bright light appeared in the sky and a second sound joined it, creating a strangely beautiful duet when Yuri started to glow too. The ground beneath him rippled as for the second time those ethereal wings unfurled. They were resonating with whatever was within that light and started to lift him into the air.

"Yuri, what's going on? Are you alri-" Sara began, reaching up to Yuri only to have his voice swallowed by the wind whirling around Yuri as he was lifted higher.

Then suddenly, the wind grew cold and Sara could see his own breath. The same happened to everyone in the immediate area. Everything started to turn cold and ice crystals formed, spreading from the spot Yuri was, his eyes glazed over with those wings drawing him further upwards. His hair turned white, forming a crown of ice, as did his clothes as those wings also frosted over, making them look like tinted glass. The light also faded and they saw what was inside the light, something so small yet radiated enough power from it to overshadow what they felt from Yuri himself.

Shielding his eyes, Sara wondered aloud, "Is that…a feather?"


	8. Blood Pact

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Tsubasa Chronicles, XXXHolic, or anything else associated with Clamp Manga; this is purely fan-made.

 **Note:** I hope this doesn't become a habit but here's another late-night chapter for you guys. I felt like adding Saya to the story in a more active role at least for a while and hint at her traveling with the other Yuri from world to world for a time. This is a bit of a short chapter but please enjoy nevertheless and leave a review with any comments or suggestions on what to do next in the story. Also, I'm trying to get back into The Ice King to write an update but I've been very busy helping some friends of mine lately. I hope I can get back into it sometime soon though. For now though, please enjoy what I have managed to update here.

Chapter 7: Blood Pact

The air became frigid as the unexpected snow storm raged around Yuri and Sara, spiraling outward and forming a wall of ice spikes, almost reminiscent of a freshwater lily in bloom. This crystalline barrier kept Big Shimaron's foot soldiers from advancing after the attack Ranjeel ordered his archers to unleash in a blind panic was easily deflected by the sheer force of wind. Although Ranjeel's soldiers could hardly hear his voice anyway above the storm howling so fiercely when he told them to go ahead and kill both Yuri and Sara, fearing the power of the Demon King destroying them all.

But Janis knew better…

This was not the Demon King's power, it was being eclipsed by another that was not of this world. As intrigued as he was by this unusual turn of events, Janis still needed to keep up appearances and thus advised Ranjeel to get himself to safety. There was nothing they could do against a force such as this, it would be foolish to even attempt it without knowing more.

Ranjeel reluctantly agreed and was about to be taken away by two of his soldiers when a flash of movement caught his eye and he shouted above the wind, "There! Could that be the one who shot the arrow at King Saralegui? Janis, I order you to go capture them!"

Instead of responding with words, Janis turned towards where he was pointing and saw the shadowy figure emerge from behind the trees and with inhuman speed rush towards the whirlwind not long after entering the clearing. They leapt into the air, easily navigating across the jagged icicles with their light footing and withdrew a previously hidden sword from the folds of their cloak. This person shouted and slashed horizontally at the whirlwind, dispelling the storm only just enough to pass through it before it continued its rampage.

"Your Majesty, even with my power I wouldn't be able to get any further than your soldiers did. I will investigate the matter of the assassination attempt but for now we must flee from here. This is an unnatural power and even I do not know the cause of it. This presence does not belong to the Demon King, he's been possessed by some other power, most likely the source of that strange sound we heard earlier," Janis knelt down to brace against the wind to meet Ranjeel's gaze. "The Demon King mainly utilizes the power of spirits associated with water but this is ice, though they are similar in nature even I do not know of anyone capable of freezing it, let alone anything close to this scale."

Gritting his teeth, Ranjeel snarled, "Well whomever is responsible for that arrow, they will pay dearly for this! Damn it, we were so close!"

Giving the soldiers a nod, Ranjeel was escorted away and his army withdrew from the field in hopes of escaping the storm's reach. The sudden drop in temperature had effected many of the men close to the front lines when the temperature dropped at an alarming rate and they shivered as they ran. As battle hardened as they were, it wasn't as if they'd expected to face a snow storm…

And with that, before long, only Yuri's friends and Sara's hidden soldiers remained behind, watching helplessly as the whirlwind raged. Unable to do anything but brace against the wind and wonder if Sara, who had been caught in the middle of it along with Yuri, was still alive. Yuri's wound did not seem life threatening from a distance but if he didn't stop he'd wear himself out. Besides which there was also the matter of the one who broke through the storm. Who were they? Were they a friend…or foe?

* * *

Meanwhile, Sara lay unconscious against the back one of the ice spikes close to Yuri who was still floating just slightly above the ground, his body partially frozen starting from the ankles. Yuri stared down at Sara but couldn't remember who he was while trapped in this new form that had been exchanged for his other self, the Demon King. He couldn't even remember who he was either. But the Demon King part of him, the only part that was still somewhat aware of himself, was powerless.

He couldn't stop what was happening.

Just then, a voice reached Yuri, along with the feeling of a sudden jerk from his shoulder. Tearing his gaze away from Sara's face, he turned and saw none other than the girl named Saya they'd seen within that vision holding the arrow he'd been shot with in her hand. She hadn't wasted any time pulling it out nor given him any sort of warning. The moment it was freed from his shoulder, hot fresh blood began staining his sleeve and dripped onto the frozen grass.

"I'm not surprised that you got in trouble again so soon," Saya began calmly, dropping the arrow callously as she would a tree branch and walking towards him, eyes glowing red as she eyed his blood. "I smelled your blood and came as soon as I could. Are you alright? The wound doesn't look serious and your blood smells clean so I wouldn't worry about any poison."

Unable to recall who she was in this state, Yuri found himself replying, "Who are you…?"

Saya frowned from beneath her hood, "If you can't be bothered to remember on your own that's your problem. It's Saya. I'm not going to remind you again though. Now, I think you'd better call off this storm before you kill yourself through overexertion. I can only protect you from enemies, not from anything you inflict on yourself. You may be numb to the pain right now as this other you right now but sooner or later-"

"You…I…" Yuri began, clutching his head with his free hand and struggling to remember his true self. "You're…Saya. And my name, my name is…"

With tremendous effort, Yuri began to calm the storm will it to dissipate and landed on his feet, his wings slowly fading away. Or at the very least, faded back to their original sapphire glow while his hair and cloths slowly darkened back to black as well. Seeing this, Saya relaxed the tension she held on her blade if it had gotten to the point she had to knock him out to save his life. It wouldn't have been the first time since they met that he got emotional and went out of control. Somehow this was different. He felt different…

"Your Highness!"

"Yuri!"

A mixture of these cries reached them as soon as the wind died down and the ice barrier shattered and several men came rushing to them. Were these the friends Yuri so desperately missed? If so, then how come he could still call upon those wings? Surely Yuri must have paid a steep price to call them back since he had nothing except that strange power when they first met. Or, was this person not the same Yuri she met that time? It was possible. Except…their blood smelled exactly the same. That was why she felt compelled to come rescue him.

This was their pact after all.

"YOU! Get your grubby hands off of him!" Wolfram snarled, sword pointed at her.

Her eyes flashed red then faded as she caught a whiff of Yuri's scent on him, assuming then that they were close. And behind him, Sara's soldiers began chipping away at the remaining ice keeping their king in place as Yuri's friends faced her with their weapons drawn. Apart from the other black-haired boy who watched her with his dark calculative eyes and had someone standing guard over him too.

Yuri swayed where he stood, still holding the feather in his hand before staggering back, feeling faint from overusing his powers and from blood loss. Saya caught him and lifted him up into the crook of her free arm as if he weighed nothing, the other still holding her sword.

"It's not safe here. Looks like he got what he came for so let's go," she took a step forward but they raised their swords higher, not trusting her in the least. Smart.

"You're not going anywhere until you return His Majesty to us and tell us who you are," Gunter said with an unusually calm and firm tone. "Were you the one who shot the arrow? If so this is likely some clever ruse to-"

Saya snorted and flicked her wrist sword, making it glint dangerously. "Do I look like an archer to you? We're wasting time. His heartbeat is getting weaker and Yuri's likely to get hypothermia if we don't get him someplace warm. Same goes for that one since he was caught up in the eye of the storm," she nodded over at Sara who was starting to regain consciousness but was shivering pretty bad.

Narrowing his gaze, Wolfram growled, "The only one wasting time here is you for not handing him over. So, give Yuri back! Now!"

Seeing that they weren't intent on moving an inch or lowering their swords, Saya sighed and flung her own sword to the side where it stuck a few inches into the ground. Then Saya muttered under her breath as she glared up at him while handing Yuri over, "You're lucky that you have his scent on you, otherwise you'd be dead right now."

While Wolfram and Gunter were preoccupied with checking Yuri's condition, Yosak pointed out, "You still haven't told us who you are and what you want. If you aren't the one who shot at His Highness, then who are you?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Saya replied, "Someone you don't want to mess with. But if he managed to have his wish granted and is protected by you lot again then there's no need for our pact anymore. It took me a long time to catch up when we were separated. Though I suppose the pact between us is meaningless now if this isn't the same one. Only one way to know for sure…"

Lifting her left hand which had gotten some of Yuri's blood on it, Saya lifted it to her lips and slowly licked her palm. The reaction she had to his blood was the same as the first time Saya tasted it. It tasted clean and pure like rainwater. Yet it was also full of potent magic that sent a rush of exhilaration up her spine. They were obviously stunned and appalled by this display but Saya could care less. After all, it wasn't as if they had any idea what a real _'demon'_ was. Or, better yet and likely closer to their level of understanding would be…

A vampire.


End file.
